Durham County Non-Profit Funding Program Board of County Commissioners’ Worksession August 6, 2012

Non-Profit Funding Program Administration Preparation for each funding cycle begins in October of the prior fiscal year After BOCC finalizes funding amounts, staff must negotiate and finalize grant agreements Departments involved in program administration: ▫County Manager’s Office ▫County Attorney’s Office ▫Budget Department ▫Finance Other departments that review applications: ▫Cooperative Extension ▫CJRC ▫Public Health ▫Library ▫Fire Marshal ▫EMS ▫Open Space and Real Estate ▫Sustainability ▫Information Technology ▫Public Information ▫Youth Home ▫Soil and Water ▫Social Services ▫Mental Health ▫Sheriff

FY13 estimated cost for administering program: ▫Staff time ▫Supplies ▫e-Cimpact software ▫Executive Service Corps of the Triangle organizational assessments $73, Non-Profit Funding Program Administration

Annual Timeline of Events October – Advertisement begins for the next funding cycle November – Release pre-application questionnaire; develop application for e-Cimpact December – Pre-application questionnaires due; finalize application and prepare instructional manual

January – Application opens on e-Cimpact; application workshop held February – Applications due; coordinate department reviews; schedule site visits to first-time applicants March – Budget, Legal, and Manager’s Office review all applications; visit all new applicants; make non- profit application notebooks; all department reviews due; enter all requested amounts into SAP Annual Timeline of Events

April – Budget, Legal, and Manager’s Office staff develop funding recommendations with County Manager; enter recommended amounts into SAP May and June – Present recommendations to Commissioners; provide further information as requested; finalize approved funding amounts July and August – County Manager’s Office and Legal finalize grant agreements; quarterly program and financial monitoring thereafter Annual Timeline of Events

Support for Non-Profit Agencies January Application workshop Individual help via phone, , or face-to-face Reviews of applications prior to deadline to check for missing items or suggestions for strengthening application Free organizational assessments for each FY13 funded agency through Executive Service Corps of the Triangle

What We Hear From Non-Profit Agencies On the January workshop: ▫Of those that attend, 94.1% feel that the workshop helped them better understand the application process ▫82.4% feel that the workshop better prepared them for using e-Cimpact On e-Cimpact: ▫66.7% of applicants had previously used e-Cimpact before ▫52.4% believe it is comparable to other online application systems ▫23.8% do not agree that e-Cimpact is easy to navigate

What We Hear From Non-Profit Agencies On the application: ▫80.9% found the questions easy to understand ▫71.5% felt that the questions allowed them to fully explain their agency and the type of services they provide ▫95.2% believe that the length of time to complete the application (6 weeks) is adequate and reasonable

What We Hear From Non-Profit Agencies On the public comment worksession held in April: ▫85% of applicants attended the worksession “It did not seem like the Commissioners were really gaining new knowledge or understanding of non-profits through our comments, so I wondered if it was truly worth their time.” “There is no opportunity for follow-up discussions [at the worksession] or to really raise important issues.” “This is a long and drawn out process which can take away valuable time from work, especially for the smaller non- profits that don’t have many staff.”

What We Hear From Non-Profit Agencies Other feedback: “I was very impressed with the process, and felt that it was thorough, yet reasonable in its evaluation.” “The workshop is absolutely critical for first-time applicants. There is still important information needed by everyone, but some of it is reinforcing what we learned in prior years.” “I think e-Cimpact works better, on the whole, than other online application software I have used. It's just a little non-linear in how it's navigated which can be confusing, and can leave you nervous that you've left something out.”

Ideas for the Future Common application with United Way of the Greater Triangle ▫UWGT’s application is specific to their goals and outcome measures for each county ▫16 out of 53 FY13 Durham non-profit applicants are also UWGT partner agencies

Ideas for the Future Soft deadline ▫Still require, per the policy, that applications must be turned in by the published deadline ▫Those that turn in the application on time will receive initial feedback on the quality of their application ▫1-2 weeks to make changes to their application and turn the new version in to the County

Ideas for the Future Volunteers provide free grant-writing advice ▫Possible volunteers from local universities or other organizations ▫Would need to explore liability issues for the volunteers

Ideas for the Future “Second Glance Committee” ▫After Manager’s recommendations, BOCC identifies applications they would like staff to give a “second glance” ▫Committee would be made up of representatives from across the County, and would have not previously reviewed any applications ▫Committee reviews applications, performance history, site visits, and any new information received after the application was submitted ▫Committee may or may not agree with Manager’s previous recommendations

Ideas for the Future Shift funding cycle to calendar year ▫Applications received and reviewed in fall; grant award is from January 1 – December 31 ▫Allows County department reviewers to give more attention to non-profit funding applications ▫Separates non-profit funding from overall budget discussions ▫Requires a maximum amount of non-profit funding ▫Year 1 of implementation would require ½ year of gap funding to hold existing grantees “harmless” until new funding cycle begins